When a hardware consultant writes a specification, it’s common practice to sit down and discuss the project with the architect, at least for the more complicated jobs.  The topic of lock functions seems to arise at almost all of those meetings – usually someone in the room needs a refresher on how the basic functions work.  In fact, when I was teaching our specwriter apprentices a few weeks ago I said, “Don’t ask the architect if he or she wants a storeroom function lock, ask if the door should always require a key to enter.”  A manufacturer’s catalog may show 50 different lock functions (or more!) and it’s difficult or impossible to remember how each function works.